I'm not in love

Ex Escape

Wolfie and Gwen left the store, while the girl was bouncing around. She made them chuckle with her energy, and she didn't even stop when Wolfie asked if they could carry their grocery bags as well. They didn't complain. It had been a long night for both of them, and it was nice to just spend some time together before heading home. The weather was still cold, but not too bad.
They walked towards a park, where they figured they'd be able to find more privacy. They knew that there were other families that went out here, since there were no trees around, but they were also on a park bench. They'd rather be somewhere with more light in general.
Wolfie pulled their blanket out of their backpack and spread it over their laps as they sat down. Gwen did the same thing, and Wolfie let her put her head on their shoulder. Theu wrapped an arm around her shoulders to keep her warm, but they wasn't quite sure what else they should do.
Eventually though, something caught Wolfie's eye. "Hey! Isn't that the boy you broke up with?" Gwen looked over, trying to see the person they meant. There really wasn't much to look at. He stood about two feet away from the bench. His blonde hair, dark jacket and jeans were easy to recognize, and his expression seemed serious. They weren't too surprised, but he was still surprising. Gwen nodded. The boy walked over, sitting on the other side of them.
He stared at nothing, not saying anything. Finally he spoke. "Why the hell did you call me a bastard?"
"Because that's what you are." Gwen mumbled under her breath.
He shook his head. "No it is NOT. I can change. You don't know how good I've tried!" He threw his hands up in frustration. The two watched him silently for a few minutes. "I thought we would have another chance. I thought this time we could actually be happy. But YOU keep acting as if I hurt you! Sure we have kids that you didn't consent to, but we still--" The man said but was stopped when Gwen hit him with a book, knocking him unconscious. Wolfie chuckled a bit. That had probably been a low blow, but he deserved it.
Gwen slowly climbed to her feet and picked up the bag containing their groceries. She slung it over her shoulder, and grabbed Wolfie by their wrist. She took a deep breath, then started walking. "It's going to get dark soon. We need to be careful, or those guys might try something."
"Yeah."
As they kept walking, she couldn't help but feel a little guilty. This whole situation was so out of character for her, but it felt... right. Maybe it was because she felt safe with Wolfie, and maybe it had to do with the way Wolfie treated her, being a better friend than Gwen was used to having. And now, she was pretty sure she was falling back into old habits.
But it was different with Wolfie. She trusted them enough to show her emotions freely without worrying if Wolfie would think it was weird. She wanted things to work out between them, and she wanted to believe that Wolfie wanted that as well. But she had no idea how to approach this subject, or whether she wanted to discuss it at all.
"Where are we going, exactly?" Wolfie asked as they continued walking.
"We're close now." She said simply.
Wolfie glanced behind them, noticing something. "Is that... a car?"
Gwen turned to take a look and gasped. "You're right. Shit. Come on!" She ran faster, dragging Wolfie behind her. They reached the alley next to them, and slipped through. Once inside, they waited until the coast was clear. Then, they turned to face each other, both breathing heavily.
"I hope they haven't seen us." Gwen muttered.
"Who was that?"
"Another ex of mine."
Gwen didn't want to talk about it anymore, so she changed topics. "Well, I think that's our cue to leave before the sun sets." She gestured toward the exit. Wolfie nodded, then they started back up the street.
They walked in silence for a moment. Gwen was afraid of asking any questions that would reveal her past relationship, or bring up anything else she'd been meaning to discuss. It was just as well. Wolfie looked peaceful. Not that they never smiled, but right now it seemed like everything was normal for them. Like they were just going about their normal lives.
"So, um," she started. "We should go get ice cream or something sometime. To make up for what happened earlier."
She saw a hint of a smirk flicker across Wolfie's lips, followed by a laugh. "Sounds good to me. I've already bought the tickets to a new movie. Let's see if it has a monster movie."
"Oh god," Gwen groaned, "please tell me you didn't pick Monster Island."
Wolfie shrugged innocently. "What? No. Why would I choose that?"
"The movies we usually watch tend to end with monsters."
"And I'm not gonna lie, that sounds terrifying. So, do we have to?" Wolfie gave her puppy eyes. They were big and gold, and Gwen melted every time.
"Only if you want to..." They grinned triumphantly, knowing Gwen wouldn't resist.
"Alright, alright. We won't watch Monster Island." Wolfie said.
"Thank God."
A little ways farther down the sidewalk, Gwen suddenly heard something. She looked up curiously, but didn't hear what it was. She tilted her head in confusion. Whatever it was, it definitely was coming closer. It sounded familiar...
A second later, something jumped onto Wolfie. Startled, they jumped slightly, but quickly regained their balance after a few moments. Before they could say anything, however, Gwen tackled them backwards, landing on top of them. She straddled their waist, pinning them to the ground. A small squeal left their mouth as she held them close. She laughed. "Surprise!"
The two froze for a moment. Gwen's heart was beating rapidly against her chest as she studied Wolfie's face. Their face was turning bright red, and Gwen hoped that she hadn't done anything wrong, but...
"Ya really gotta be kiddin' me?!" They snapped. Gwen blinked, confused.
"What...? I didn't do anything!"
Wolfie scoffed, pushing her off of them. "Yeah, I can tell." The two started laughing again. Wolfie laid on the floor, Gwen lying on top of them.
When they finally calmed down a bit, Gwen got up and extended her hand to pull Wolfie to their feet. She giggled when Wolfie grabbed her hand.
"Do you mind telling me why you decided to jump me like that?" They asked.
"I just... couldn't wait to surprise you." She shrugged.
"Okay..." Wolfie trailed off, looking slightly puzzled. "Well I guess I can forgive you this time. If you promise to never do it again."
"Promise!" Gwen grinned.